Naruto: Heartlands Cipher Phantom
by Malicious hero
Summary: Partially inspired by Azure King and Azure Queen's Rebellion of the Number Hunter. Life for Naruto Uzumaki, formerly Tenjo has almost collapsed. Alone, and struggling to make ends meet, he is offered a way out. The Catch? He has to interfere in his uncle's plan for dimensional destruction.


Naruto: Heartland's Cipher Phantom

Summary: Naruto Uzumaki's, formerly Naruto Tenjo's life is close to collapse. Alone, and struggling to make ends meet, earning money from underground duelling, and smaller hacking jobs. After a mysterious girl offers him a chance to get payback, by interfering in his Uncles plan for dimensional destruction, he may just find more than even that. Slight OC Naruto. Naruto x Luna, though may later expand depending on feedback.

"speech"

"**Duel spirit speech/announcements"**

_Thoughts/phone speech__**/Duel spirit thoughts**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Zexal.**

Chapter 1: Grudge Match.

**Jonasfield, City 20 miles east of Heartland**

It was raining again. How dull.

Naruto Uzumaki hated the feeling of the rain pattering over him, especially this late in the evening. Like the world was just dumping its sorrows on humanity. Like he needed anything else to deal with. To think that he once loved jumping around in the rain as a kid...

The spiked blonde was walking quickly away from a small supermarket, with what little essentials that he could afford at the bottom of the plastic bag clutched tightly in his right hand.

Passing yet another block, and another flickering street light, he paused at the entrance to an alleyway. Carefully, his formerly bright blue eyes scanned the surrounding area, making sure that no one was around. He had no desire for anyone to find out where he lived, not that it was worth much.

Satisfied, he strolled along, wrinkling his nose at the few pieces of rubbish in the gutters, that had been dropped by idiotic passer-by's. Turning a corner, he arrived at a small courtyard like space, with two more paths branching away (one of which was big enough to drive a car down), around the pillars of concrete, brick and glass that people called buildings. On the far side of the space, were three garage doors, two being a dark green, but the third was a bright orange. What made Naruto clench his fists more was the notice taped to the final door. **Rent overdue. **

Ignoring the first two, the 17-year old stopped by said door, and once again looked around, his long navy coat getting more soaked in the process. Snatching the note down, Naruto turned it over, to glance at how much his landlord wanted, then winced at the amount shown. Also frustrating was this note being the third reminder he'd gotten as of late. He would have to come up with the cash required quickly, or risk being evicted.

"Geez, looks like I need to give Joy a call..." he mumbled under his breath, already seeing another potential headache in his future. Pulling a small key from his jacket, he quickly unlocked the door, then returned the key from whence it came.

Reaching down, he lifted the door open a few feet, enough for him to duck under and into the small garage. Letting the door drop, the courtyard looked no different than it had moments ago, no evidence of anyone having been there.

Darkness filled his senses, as he moved to the left, trying to find the light switch, that he knew was there. Thankfully he'd remembered to clean up the junk he'd left lying around earlier, otherwise he'd risk tripping and possibly hurting himself, which he had done a couple times in the past.

Finally locating it, he flicked it on, illuminating the gloom. The garage space wasn't your conventional one. Towards the front at the left, was a small closet, which contained what little clothes that Naruto had left, his backpack, plus his lone pillow and blanket. Toward the back-left corner, was an old upgraded motorbike with dark yellow coverings, black lightning decorations at the front, a black leather seat and a space at the front to slot a duel disk into place if necessary. The _Yellow Flash,_ one of the only things Naruto had left to remember his father by. He hardly ever rode it anymore, despite him getting a license for it two years before. He just didn't have enough money to get fuel on top of all the other things that he needed. It had enough for a small trip, but not much else. Pity.

Right next to it, was a desk and computer, that he'd managed to keep after his mother kicked the bucket two years ago. To the right of the computer, was a tablet-like device, a little bit wider than Naruto's forearm. Length-wise, it would have almost covered that same forearm. **(Arc-V duel disk)** Coloured red, it was a prototype duel disk that his father had been working on when he died, finished a year later by Naruto himself, while his mother was still around. He could still remember the proud smile she had when he got it working, saying that Minato would have definitely been proud of him. On the left of the desk, was a corded phone, thankfully paid for by the landlord, despite several protests, the stingy bastard.

On the right side of the garage was a fold up futon attached to the wall, about halfway up it, so that Naruto wasn't sleeping on the floor. Back towards the front of the space, was a door leading to a small kitchenette and bathroom. The place looked a bit grubby, but that was to be expected. Cleaning items weren't something that Naruto could often afford with what little income he was able to get.

_Home sweet home._ Note the sarcasm.

Quickly entering the kitchenette to deposit the few food items he had gotten at the supermarket, he then pulled a cup ramen from the cupboard, and then filled and heated the kettle. As he leaned against the wall, hating that the water was taking so long to heat up, he took on an almost gleeful expression, when he hear a 'ding!' to show that it was.

Picking it up, being mindful not to burn himself, he pulled out the cup and poured in the water, letting the noddles and ingredients cook and mix together. Once he was satisfied, he took in a deep whiff of the smell it was giving, as he subconsciously got a fork from the drawer.

"Come to 'Ruto, heavenly noodles of Inari!"

His food ready, he returned to the garage/living space, and plonked himself down at his desk, and turned his computer on, eating his ramen as he went.

Once it was on, he logged into his email, and checked for any messages, but found squat. Business on the hacking, errr… odd job side of things was a bust then. His eyebrow twitching at what this meant, he reached for the desk phone on his left and dialled a number.

Brrrr, brrrrr...

"_FISHCAKE! How ya been?"_

Good thing Naruto hadn't had the phone next to his ear when she answered, otherwise he may have gone deaf from her shout. As it was, he winced at the volume, but got back on track, though with a twitchy eyebrow at the nickname. His mother's former classmate was always like this when it came to greetings.

"Joy, first off, it means Maelstrom, not fishcake, and second, are there any duels or jobs available for me?"

"_Hmph! No hello? No how have I been?"_

"Joy!"

"_Well, aren't you a stick in the mud!"_

Naruto face palmed, his ire starting to grow. "Joy, I am soooo not in the mood for your antics tonight." He muttered, wondering if he had any aspirin in the cupboards. He'd need one or two at this rate!

Joy was silent for a few seconds, realising that this might not have been the best time to play around.

"_That bad, huh?" _She asked, a minor tone of concern showing itself.

"My greedy teme of a landlord is angry that I haven't been able to pay the rent on time. And he's losing patience."

"_How long?"_

"Two weeks overdue. I'm lucky he hasn't decided to chuck my stuff in the skip, and then sell _Yellow Flash. _And if it wasn't for your... warning the last time he got mad, I doubt I would have even gotten this much leniency." The jackass tried to kick him out after one day late, not that it had been Naruto's fault, mind you. Joy however, had been visiting and… explained why this was stupid to do to her surrogate nephew. For multiple reasons.

"_I still remember making that sexist obese fucker squeal like a pig! Honestly, idiot arse thinks he can forget that he owes me!"_

Naruto rolled his eyes at the nonchalant tone the woman used, having gotten used to her demeanour a while ago. Then he gave a snicker at the reminder of what she did to his landlord. He was still surprised that a guy could sing soprano that high.

"So, can I ask if there's any way I can earn some green? I know that you hadn't scheduled me in for a while, since the next set of exhibition matches isn't until next month. And I doubt that you've had any problems as of late."

Joy paused, and Naruto could hear some papers being rifled through in the background, probably due to her taking the call at her desk.

_"Wwweeeeeeellll... there might be one thing. Actually, this is a pretty good thing!"_

She seemed... giddy. That was not a good thing in Naruto's experience.

"_You see, I had a duel set up between two of my duelists, in the Cage Arena."_

Naruto could see where this was going, and tried to keep himself calm. "One of them going to be a no show?" he failed completely. A hint of eagerness was present in his tone.

"_From the sounds of things. Just got word two hours back that she got admitted to St. Dominic's due to a hit and run."_

Naruto blinked, his good mood disappearing as quickly as it had appeared. "On the night that she was going to duel?" He asked, biting his lip. _Well, that's not suspicious or anything._

Joy seemed to be of a similar mind to him, a she gave a heavy sigh.

"_Too much of a coincidence, I know. Problem is, I can't prove it. And without proof, I can't disqualify her opponent. And if he shows up tonight, with no one to duel him? He walks out with the prize money."_

That made Naruto's blood boil. This was another reason why underground duelling was frowned upon. While the money was somewhat decent (though obviously nowhere near the amounts pro leagues could pay), the duellists would sometimes resort to dirty tactics and cheating in order to win, caring more about the cash than the actual duels. It was slowly turning into a blood sport. He didn't like it one bit, but really didn't have a whole lot of choice. "Bastard. Who is he?"

"_Akira Hoshiyama."_ Wow. You could certainly hear the sneer in Joy's tone. Clearly, she despised this guy.

Naruto rubbed his cheeks, his fingers and thumb going over the three symmetrical whisker marks on each one. Then he smirked.

"I think it's time to send in the champ then."

"_You. Have just read my mind. I'll let him know at there's been a change in opponents, but I'll keep your name out of it. Let him sweat a little."_

Naruto nodded, chuckling inwardly. He had no problem with her doing that. One problem he had found out when becoming the champ of Joy's duel circuit, was that the number of duels he performed in dropped significantly, with him now only getting called in for 'Exhibition matches' or for when someone got a shot at the title, both of which only happened once every few months. And considering how many times he'd beaten Anko and a few others back, he doubted he'd lose the title anytime soon. He, rather foolishly, hadn't thought ahead when it had come to winning the title.

"How much is the match worth?"

"_Around 22 thousand yen. Maybe a little more if the crowd is bigger than expected."_

Naruto frowned, thinking quickly. That kind of money should get his landlord off his back, since it would pay off the first week overdue, and a chunk of the second. It wouldn't pay off the amount owed entirely, but it was close. Stupid landlord demanding weekly rent payments.

"What do you want me to do to him?"

"_Humiliate him. I have no patience for cheaters in my arenas. And make it quick." _Came Joy's viscous snarl.

"That I can do. Anything else I should know?"

_"Nothing springs to mind." _Was it just Naruto's imagination, or did she sound a little guarded there? Meh, he'd think about it later.

"What time?"

"_8:30. See you then."_

Naruto made to answer, only for a tone to sound, indicating that Joy had hung up. Rude!

Shaking his head, he placed the phone down, and then shut his computer down. Opening a drawer in the desk, he looked down at two deck boxes. One was a light Blue with red markings, whereas the other was black with grey markings.

Considering for a few moments, he picked them both up, looking between them, torn.

**Cage Arena, West Jonasfield, 8:25pm.**

The exact words to describe Akira's mood were not in any way positive. Somehow, despite his friend ensuring that the bitch of his opponent wouldn't make it to the arena, the organiser, Joy Kuroyami, had somehow brought in a substitute. This was supposed to be a bit of easy money! Now he would actually put some effort in to get it!

No matter. Despite Joy not telling him who the substitute was, he doubted that the woman had managed to get anyone good to sub in for Jessie Volanti. He always did hate that magician user. And her being a newcomer had only been the start. This had been the perfect excuse to let her know to not step into these sorts of arenas. Bad things tended to happen here…

Akira was a tall, thin man in his mid-twenties dressed in silver with a slight dishevelled look, bore green eyes and a shock of white hair, that looked like it hadn't been trimmed in a year. He was sitting at a table in a room split off from the arena, so as to 'give him time to prepare', before entering. What a joke. Give him a year and he'd be running the joint, not this Joy, if that was her real name.

His musing was interrupted, when there was a knock on the door. "Two-minute warning!" was the call from one of Joy's bouncers.

"Whatever…" Akira mumbled under his breath, not taking the guy seriously. Still, it wouldn't hurt to get his disk and 'strategy' ready.

Pulling out his silver-grey cased disk, and a matching D-gazer, he slotted his deck into place, his extra deck on the other side. Attaching his disk to his arm, he got up, and exited the room, nodding to the bouncer in faux respect. He'd fire the guy once he was on top. He clearly had no pride in being a man, if he took orders from a woman all the time.

Striding down the corridor, he stopped at the entrance to the arena, waiting for his name to be called. As he listened, he could hear the sounds of the gathered crowd. It sounded pretty big. Good. All the better for them to see him beat the pants off of whatever scrub Joy brought in.

Finally, he heard the voice of the announcer start calling.

"**ALRIGHT Ladies and Gentlemen, if you could take your seats, we'll get this started!**"

Akira gave a jerk. What the heck? Joy Kuroyami was doing the commentating herself? That was odd. Though inwardly, he wondered how her face would look once he won. Ah, no doubt it'd be priceless!

"**The bets have been placed! And that means it is time for the main event! Are YOU READY?**" Joy called out, to which she received a roar of approval from what Akira could hear. However, this statement told him that the audience knew whom he was facing.

But Joy wasn't satisfied with the crowd's response. "**I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"**

If the first call had the crowd happy, this had them downright ecstatic! The noise was a far cry from what had been heard seconds before.

"**Well with no further ado, let's introduce or duellists for tonight! Our first contender is a man, whose self-proclaimed fate is 'written in the stars', one meant for greatness! He is the Constellar Centurion! The Man of the Stars! AKIRA HOSHIYAMA!"**

With his name called, Akira exited the corridor, and into the arena, getting his first look at the crowd for himself.

The Cage Arena was an apt name for it, as it was exactly what it sounded like. It was a rectangular space, covered by bars, to ensure that the duellists didn't attempt to run from any beatdowns coming their way. The entrances on either side were the only ways in or out, and they were locked after the duellist entered, only to be opened again at the duel's conclusion. The interior had a few cameras positioned around, so that the spectators could view the duel without their view obstructed by the bars.

From Akira's perspective, the crowd was large for such a duel, which was unexpected. He briefly wondered why that was, but dismissed it as anything to be concerned over. He did catch a glimpse of a few bookies, one standing next to a tan clothed woman in her early twenties, with purple hair styled in a fan-spread ponytail.

Akira raised an eyebrow. Anko Mitarashi, the Venom Viper was here? Odd. Widely considered one of Joy's best duellists, and also one of her enforcers. Why would she be spectating? And he wasn't sure he liked the psychotic grin on her face.

Next to her was another worthy of note. A man of about the same age as Anko, though possibly a little older, he couldn't tell, was a man with dark hair done up in a spiked top knot, a stern look, and a horizontal scar running across his nose, and just under his eyes. Iruka Umino, the Atlantean King. He seemed to be glaring at him with harsh disapproval.

Akira put them out of his mind. Since neither of the two mentioned were in the passage opposite him coming into the arena, he wasn't worried, though the glares they sent his way did put him off for a second. Whatever. Even if they suspected that he was behind Jessie's… accident,… they had no way of proving it.

Shaking his head, he gazed upward with a slight scowl, at the announcer's box, containing the queen bitch herself.

Joy was a woman in her late thirties-early forties, but no one was in any real hurry to ask which it was considering her temper. You wouldn't have known either way, as she looked to be in her mid-twenties. Her salmon coloured hair was tied back in a ponytail, under the cowgirl hat she had on, her indigo eyes peering down at him from underneath it. Her attire consisted of a dark blue skinny strapless dress, that certainly fit her hourglass figure in all the right places.

Judging from the way she was looking at him, he knew that she suspected him of the foul play. And had given him this 'opponent' to make sure that he at least worked for the cash. Her next action caught him off guard, however. She smirked, looking positively evil as she did so.

"**And now for his opponent…**"

Joy paused, looking at the audience apologetically. "**My apologies once again to who had originally come to see the skills of Jessie Volanti, our very own Mistress of Magicians! I'm sorry to say that she was hospitalised earlier today, and I'm sure most of us here, wish her a speedy recovery.**"

It took all Akira had to keep down his scoff. Like hell, he did!

"**But since some of you were coming all this way, I thought it would be a shame to let you not see some form of entertainment!**" she continued, her tone having a hint of mockery in it, not enough for most to notice, but those who knew her well enough would certainly pick up on it.

"**So, since they were only a few matches away from being allowed to do so, I decided to let Akira have a shot at one of our very best."**

Wait, what? That statement stopped Akira cold. Scanning the audience again, he tried to see if any other duellists were present, maybe enough to give him a hint as to whom this blasted witch had gotten hold of.

"**So, Ladies and gents! Please put your hands together for the king of the cage! The unpredictable maelstrom! And yes, ladies, he's single!**" this earned a few cheers (and resulted in a certain blonde going pale).

That sounder familiar…

"**The reigning champion of the circuit!**"

Akira went pale. She couldn't mean…

"**The Cipher Phantom himself…"**

Oh shit. She did!

"**NARUTO UZUUUUUMMMMMAAAAAKKKKKIIII!**"

The door at the other side of the cage slid open, as the teen strode in, his disk strapped to his arm, and his azure eyes burning a hole in Akira's head.

Naruto was currently clad in a long black coat, with a light blue flame pattern at the bottom of its back and at his sleeve edges, giving an almost ethereal look to him. Under it, he sported an orange bandana tied around his neck, a blue shirt, with a snarling dragon head pattern on it, and black pants. Finally, perched over his blonde locks was a baseball cap with a spiral symbol on the front.

Akira was quick to realise that he had underestimated Joy here. She had played him like a fiddle! The gall of her! However, he wasn't about to let that stop him.

The greedy fool.

"I'm surprised that someone like you would come down to duel against me." Akira remarked, trying to get a grip on the young champion.

Naruto blinked. "Hm? Did you say something?" he asked with a perfect deadpan, putting his duel disk onto his left forearm as he asked. This earned a few snickers.

Akira scowled at the dismissal. Well, if Uzumaki wanted to underestimate him, he could go right ahead! The victory would be all the sweeter!

Joy, seeing them both ready, decided to kick things off, sitting back down in her chair as she got the ball rolling.

"**Alright, duellists, get your decks and disks ready!**"

Naruto pushed back the part of his coat covering the right side of his waist, revealing the two deck boxes he had been puzzling over earlier attached to a black belt. Reaching down, he opened the light blue one, pulling the deck inside out, and placed it into the appropriate space. He then activated the disk, an orange energy 'blade' springing to life, stunning the audience.

Akira, whom had already gotten his disk and deck ready, stood still, his beady eyes staring at Naruto, as if trying to intimidate him.

In response, Naruto looked at him strangely. "You want to take a picture? It'll make the view last longer."

Akira's face went red, a tick mark forming on his forehead. It only got worse when the audience gave out a few laughs, Anko letting out a particularly loud cackle.

"You're confident for a champion about to lose his title." Akira remarked, calming his rage a little, as well as to boost his own confidence, to which Naruto raised any eyebrow, a cheeky grin emerging.

"Wow. The stick up your ass must be up reeeally far for you to believe the shit you're spewing."

Akira was about to snap out a retort, when Joy, having enough of the testosterone, cut in, clapping her hands loudly to catch their attention. Picking up a coin and showing it to the pair, she called out.

"**Duellists, shuffle! Heads, Naruto first. If Tails, Akira!**"

Snapping out of their verbal banter, the pair deployed their disks auto-shufflers. Though Akira was mentally crowing. _She may have surprised me with this bastard, but that won't stop me. Beating you will make my takeover much easier…_

With that done, Joy picked up a coin off the counter in front of her, and after showing it to the crowd, getting a cheer in return, flipped it with an elaborate flourish. Time seemed to slow down, the duellists drawing their starting hands as the coin spun in mid-air.

**(Naruto H: 5, Akira H: 5)**

The coin slowly began its descent, Naruto retaining his cheerful face, while Akira was now sporting a stoic expression.

Finally, after it seemed an hour had past, though in reality Naruto knew it had only been a second, Joy grabbed the coin. Flipping it over, she revealed the result, with it also appearing on the monitors around and in the arena. Tails.

"**DUEL!**" **(Naruto LP: 4000, Akira LP: 4000)**

"Lady luck says I go first." Akira drew his first card quickly, barely glancing at it before playing it. **(Akira H: 5 – 6)**

"I summon Constellar Pollux!"

A bizarre armoured, caped being appeared. The right side of its armour white with gold highlights, and had spikes emerging from some of the joints. The left side was a complete white colour and looked smoother, less jointed and appeared a tad bulkier. The sword it wielded was even stranger. It had two blades emerging from the hilt in perfect symmetry, each reflecting the opposing styles of its armour. **(ATK: 1700)**

Not even halting in his advance, the 'centurion' went on. "On the turn Pollux is normal summoned, I can normal summon another Constellar monster! So, have a taste of double trouble, as I summon Constellar Kaus!"

A monster that Naruto thought to be a white armoured centaur galloped out, holding its bow at the ready.

"Taking archery lessons? It might give you something to be good at." Naruto tilted his head to the side.

"Oh, but I am good at something! Strategy!" Akira shot back, gesturing to Kaus. "I activate Kaus' ability! Twice per turn I can raise the level of a Constellar monster by 1. And I'll choose to raise both of my monster's levels!"

Kaus drew back its bowstring, two arrows materialising in place, ready to be fired. Aiming skyward, the beat-warrior released the string, launching the arrows skyward. They arched up, and then fell back down, one landing on each of them. **(Pollux Lv: 4 – 5, Kaus Lv: 4 – 5)**

"Is this going anywhere?" Naruto asked, giving a mock yawn, though he had a feeling exactly where this was headed. "I'd like a turn sometime this millenium, dattebayo!"

"Oh, it's going exactly where I wanted it to be!" was the scornful reply. "I now overlay both my Constellar monsters to build the overlay network!"

Both Pollux and Kaus were engulfed in an aura of yellow light as a red portal opened under Akira's field. Leaping upward, the monsters then dived into it, engulfing the field in a red glow.

"**Light of the stars, descend and shake this very earth! XYZ Summon! Constellar Pleiadies!"**

A tall being clad in white and gold intricate armour rose up onto Akira's field, its multi pointed cape flowing behind it, and clutching its bladed staff in a battle stance, able to strike as soon as its master gave the word. Orbiting it were its yellow overlay units. **(ATK: 2500)**

Akira sneered. "Unfortunately, as mush as I'd like to wipe that smirk off your face, I can't attack, so I'll end my turn with two facedowns."

"About time!" Naruto rubbed his eyes. "I was thinking I needed to take a nap with how long you were taking!"

_Make all the jokes you want, brat. _Akira snarled mentally. _I have you right were I want you. If you summon a good monster, I can use Pleiadies' ability to return it to your hand. After that are my facedowns: Constellar Meteor and Xyz Reborn. With Meteor, if you battle Pleiadies, and your monster isn't killed, it gets sent back to your deck afterwards. And if you do somehow manage to kill my Xyz monster, Reborn will bring it right back with an overlay unit to boot! Bring it! I can't wait to crush you under my heel._

"**With that, Akira has begun strongly. A strong monster, and some defence. How will our champion respond?**"

So caught up in his musing, Akira didn't take into account Naruto starting his turn. **(Naruto H: 5 – 6)**

Naruto took a glance at his hand. Akira's play was textbook in his mind, one that mould make a conventional duellist pause. He was no conventional duellist. Picking one card, he decided to level the playing field.

"Since you control an Xyz monster, and I have absolute zip out on my field," he began "I can special summon Cipher Twin Raptor from my hand!"

A bipedal reptilian creature with a swishing tail bounded onto the field. Its skin was a shining light blue, with black and gold armour plates covering most of the skin up. Emerging from it's back were a pair of wings resembling those of a dragon. The main part of those appendages that drew most eyes were the colour. They were shimmering multiple colours, with circuit-like veins running across them. **(ATK: 1600)**

Taking a moment to consider his next move, Naruto went on. "Now, if I use Raptor to Xyz summon a Cipher monster, it counts as two monsters." **(AN: I know that this is the anime effect of this card, and not the effect it has in real life, but since this is set in the anime-verse, I'll be using the anime abilities)**

"You can what now?!" Akira 'gaped'. _Sucker. _

"I now overlay my Cipher Twin Raptor to build the overlay network!" With a brief ripple, the raptor split into two of itself, then both were pulled into the opening Xyz portal.

"**Master of reflections, draw your blade and descend to your liege's side. XYZ Summon! Cipher Reflection Swordsman!**"

**(Cipher Reflection Swordsman. Rank 4. Attr: Light. Type: Warrior/Xyz/Effect. ATK: 2500. DEF: 1500**

**2 level 4 Cipher monsters**

**While this card is face up on the field, and another monster on your field shares the same name as this card, this card gains 500 attack points, and cannot be destroyed by card effects. Once per turn, by using an overlay unit: select one Cipher monster on your field. That cards name becomes "Cipher Reflection Swordsman" until the end phase.)**

Bursting out from the ground was a tall being, mostly covered in gleaming silver armour, but here were gaps, enough that you could see skin, which had the same multicoloured pattern that Twin raptor had on its wings. Clutched in both hands, was a long claymore, shimmering like a mirror exposed to a bright light. **(ATK: 2500)**

Akira started snickering. "You little fool…"

Naruto remained silent, a minor quirk of his left eyebrow being his only reaction.

"An impressive monster." His blowhard of an opponent went on. "Too bad you won't get to use it!"

Smirking manically, he pointed to his own Xyz monster. "I activate Pleiadies' special ability! Once per turn, by using an overlay unit, I pick one card on the field to return to your hand! Time to send that swordsman packing!"

Heeding the command, Pleiadies raised his staff, one of its overlay units being absorbed into it. Drawing it back, he swung it down, engulfing Naruto's monster in a white aura, before it shrunk, and zipped back to his extra deck.

"HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT, PUNK?" Akira laughed sarcastically. "I should have known you were all hype, no skill."

"… You done making an idiot of yourself?" came his opponents query, after he let the man in silver have his time to laugh.

Akira stopped short. "What did you call me, you snot-nosed brat?"

"Hard of hearing? Perhaps I should spell it out for you!" Naruto shook his head. "In case you've forgotten, I still have my normal summon this turn. And you've now used up your monsters ability for this round. Besides, this duel is about to come to an abrupt close."

Silence. Then the crowd cracked up as they realised Akira had been played and was about to get schooled. The duellist in question was clenching his fist, glaring at him in disbelief.

"**What's this?! Is the champ hinting at a one turn kill?!**" Joy spoke up over the din.

"You're bluffing! There's no way you could possibly win now!"

"Well, I'm most certainly not a liar, so why don't I show you?" without further ado, Naruto slammed another card onto his disk. "I summon Cipher Wing!"

This new monster looked to be a mechanical insect of sorts, with a green core surrounded by a gold frame surrounding it like an exoskeleton. Jutting out from its back were 3 sets of shimmering multicoloured wings, the ones on top being the largest, then getting progressively smaller per set. **(ATK: 1400)**

"PFFT!" was the guffaw of the simpleton. "That's your big play? If you finishing the duel this turn is by you surrendering, then by all means go ahead."

"My 'big play' as you call it hasn't come yet, but then again, I wouldn't expect someone with worse brainpower than a monkey to get that." Came the hastened reply, Naruto more focused on the duel.

"And by the way,… I never give up, dattebayo."

Before Akira could process his words, Naruto pointed to his only monster. "I activate Cipher Wing's ability. Since it was successfully normal summoned, I can summon another Cipher Wing from my hand!"

With a flash of light, another Cipher Wing flew out, ready and waiting. **(ATK: 1400)**

Akira narrowed his eyes. "So, you had another way to get that swordsman of yours out. I fail to see how that would get an OTK. Like I said, you were bluffing."

To his surprise, Naruto started chuckling, before it expanded into full blown laughter. "Oh-oh... that's the funniest thing… you honestly thought Swordsman was coming back? I'm no one trick pony. I brought him out to simply test the waters."

_Sorry about that swordsman._ What followed that thought was a rumble that most failed to hear, one of stoic understanding.

"Keep laughing brat…" Akira muttered, his irritation only growing toward Joy's 'champ'. _I'll wipe that smug grin of yours off next turn._

Slowly, but surely, Naruto regained his composure, but retained his vulpine smirk. Then strangely, a low menacing growl rippled through Naruto's ears, a noise only he heard. Glancing toward his extra deck, Naruto made to calm the source of it.

_Yeah, I'm getting sick of this cheating asswipe too. Don't worry, you'll be out to put him in his place soon._

The growl came again, but this time it seemed less aggressive, and more satisfied. Akira stupidly, decided to trash talk further.

"Spacing out? I hope this isn't boring you too much." He turned to call out to the audience.

"The only thing boring here is listening to your voice." Naruto shot back, selecting his next card. "I now activate the spell Cipher Mirror!"

**(Cipher Mirror. Normal spell: Activate when you normal or special summon a Cipher monster. Special summon 1 Cipher monster with the same name from your hand or deck, but it cannot be used as material to summon an extra deck monster this turn.)**

As soon as Naruto played it, a mirror fazed into existence behind his second Cipher Wing. Akira was twisting around a bit, trying to see if he could admire himself in it, when he was interrupted.

"Oi! Last I checked this was a duel, not a fashion show!" Naruto growled out, a few tick marks forming. "You should be paying attention, since I'm now summoning a third Cipher wing from my deck! However, I can't use it to Xyz summon this turn."

As stated, a third one of the insect-like monsters came flying out of the mirror, shattering it as it did so. **(ATK: 1400)**

"And now, the stage is set." Naruto rubbed his hands together evilly, as his opponent had a question mark floating over his head.

"For what? Looking like an imbecile?"

"Nope, you do enough of that around here! The stage is set for my victory! By tributing Cipher wing, all Cipher monsters on my field increase their levels by 4!"

Instantly, the third Cipher wing dissolved into particles, those particles empowering its fellows **(2 x Ciper Wing Lv: 4 – 8).**

Akira froze in place, Naruto's intentions becoming all too clear. "You're not… You can't be!"

"Where's all the bravado?" Naruto didn't bother confirming or denying it, since it was a tad obvious what he was about to do. "I wonder how your monster will like me using my two Cipher Wings to build the overlay network!"

The two Ciphers were dragged into the portal, this time looking like a swirling black and yellow galaxy.

"**Galaxy shining in the darkness, dwell in the Ogre god of revenge and become my Servant! XYZ Summon!**"

Whilst Naruto was chanting, the crowd went wild in anticipation, knowing that this deck's ace was about to grace the field.

"Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon!"

With a piercing cry, one of Naruto's most fearsome monsters erupted onto the battlefield, its furious anger directed toward one Akira Hoshiyami, whom could only gawp at the behemoth in front of him.

Towering over them both, it's wings, which seemed to be made of the same energy as Cipher Wing's own, were close to clipping the top of the arena. Its bright blue body and its head, were partially covered in segmented armour plates of either red or dark blue in colour. Behind it was a thrashing spiked tail, and it was standing upright on its hind legs, its arms outstretched, flexing its talons.

But the most fear inducing aspect of this beast was its eyes. As the name suggested, they were pools that shared the resemblance of a swirling galaxy, locked dead onto the enemy. **(ATK:3000)**

"Speechless?" Naruto mocked, shrugging in a 'what can you do' manner. "Can't blame you. He is awe-inspiring, isn't he?"

Shaking his fear off, Akira tried to reassure himself. "Even if you attack, I'll still have life points left! You can't win this turn like you said you would!"

The blonde shook his head. "Oh, I'm not attacking yet."

"Eh?"

His look turned feral. "I activate Galaxy-Eyes' special ability!"

One of the two blue overlay units orbiting the dragon was pulled into the dark blue gem on its chest.

"With it, I can take control of one of your monsters!"

"Wait! Time out!" Akira was left bug-eyed at the ability. His face downs were now useless!

Energy sprang forth from Galaxy-Eyes, surging toward Pleiadies, whom looked a tad uneasy, wrapping around it, and slowly dragging back to Naruto's field.

"But that's just the start! It's attack points become the same as Galaxy-Eyes, and its name becomes Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon!"

Pleiadies was then covered in a blue aura, reality warping it into an exact copy of the dragon that had just ensnared it! **(ATK: 2500 – 3000)**

"As if one was bad enough!" Akira was left sweating heavily, as it looked like Naruto's prediction was about to become true.

The duelist in question was now staring at him coldly. "How does it feel to be staring at the result of your own actions? You happy?"

"What are you talking about?!" came the growl of humiliation.

"You brought this upon yourself. You know what I mean."

Akira went pale, as his mind figured out what he meant. _This is because of Volanti!? Damn that bitch to hell!_

"Now, to make sure that those facedowns aren't anything to worry about, I'll activate Harpies Feather Duster to get rid of them." Naruto stated, almost lackadaisically. Quite frankly, this duel had been him playing his opponent along like a puppet. Now it was time to cut the strings.

Akira shielded his face as his face down cards exploded in said face.

Naruto looked solemnly down at the last card in his hand, putting the final nail in his opponent's coffin as he played it. "Last but certainly not least is the spell Cipher Interference! If I control two or more Cipher monsters with the same name, I can double the attack points of one of them until the end of the battle phase!"

Akira was left frozen in place, as Naruto's real dragon powered up. **(ATK: 3000 – 6000)**

_This can't be happening! This was supposed to be easy money!_

"Battle! Galaxy-Eyes, finish him! Cipher Stream of Destruction!"

Pulling his head back, the dragon gathered energy into its maw, before throwing it forward, releasing a heavy blast aimed to do nothing but obliterate all in its path.

Akira didn't even have time to scream before it slammed into him head first, getting tossed into the back of the arena with a heavy 'Smack!". **(Akira LP: 4000 – 0)**

**Naruto Wins!**

All over the arena viewers went mad, some in happiness at the OTK, others in rage at their losing bets.

Naruto stared at his now groaning opponent, slumped on the floor in a heap. Then, he swivelled on his heel as Joy's announcement rang out, throwing a fist in the air as a show of triumph.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, your winner, and still King of the Cage, Naruto Uzumaki!"

All while this was going on, a cloaked figure sitting at a table near the back of the arena got up and departed, leaving a small bit of money as payment for an earlier drink.

**One hour later, Alleyway outside Naruto's Garage.**

Naruto was feeling quite pleased with himself as he walked to the small place he called home. He got to duel the pants off an A-grade asshole, and got a fair chunk of rent money in the process. Things were looking up for him today. The other duellists were particularly proud of his victory, Anko hugging him into her… assets, she was so pleased. Iruka quickly stepped in so that he didn't suffocate, thankfully. After collecting the money from joy, he departed, though he noticed that something seemed to be on her mind.

As he walked he made out a snarl coming from the deck he hadn't used. _Don't worry, I'll use you next time, Rebellion, I promise. _The volume died down, the spirit liking the promise.

Turning into the courtyard, he pulled out his key as he went toward the door. Then he stopped, standing still.

"You going to come out? You've been following me ever since I left the arena."

Silence. For a few moments, all was still. Then from around a corner, came a cloaked figure, with a hood over their head.

"My apologies. I was impressed with the duel and wanted to speak with you." Came a soft, calculating feminine voice.

"If you wanted to speak with me, you could have done so at the arena." Naruto pointed out, not buying her story.

"True, but I felt this needed to be done in private… Naruto Tenjo."

If she hadn't had Naruto's full attention, she certainly had it now. His head snapping to look at her covered face. "Who are you?! And how do you know that name?!" he hissed, clenching his fists.

Underneath her hood, the girl smiled.

"Why, I am merely someone with an offer for you."

**End.**

**Hey all, Malicious hero here!**

**Nice to get back to writing with this new story, but I'll be returning to Lord of the Icy Maelstrom next, with Red Dragon Emperor coming after.**

**Now my thanks go out to my fans for being so patient with me, I'll try to get the next chapter for that out as soon as I can, I had to do a bit of re-planning based on the result on the poll for the peerage.**

**Speaking of polls, the poll for Yuya's girlfriend for my Red Dragon Emperor story is going well, for those of you whom are interested, the result so far is: **

**Fuu (11 votes)**

**Fem Haku (8 votes)**

**Shizuka & Tayuya (7 votes each)**

**Kurotsuchi (4 votes)**

**For those of you who have already voted, thank you for doing so, and for those who haven't please do so, I value all votes.**

**SO…. Should I keep this a single pairing or make it larger? Please let me know in the reviews. FLAMERS WILL BE FEED TO MY DRAGONS TO FUEL THEIR OWN FLAMES!**

**Seriously, I'm not forcing you to read this thing. You don't like? Don't read.**

**Thank you, so until next time…**

**MH Out!**


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